“Real Food” Condiments: Do They Exist?

I get a lot of questions about condiments. And surprisingly enough, condiments were one of the things I missed the most during our “100 Days of Real Food” pledge. They are like the little things you don’t pay much attention to until they’re suddenly gone. So in an effort to answer everyone’s questions in one spot, including what’s real and what’s not and what we use now that our pledge is over, here’s the deal….

Mayonnaise

First of all, just about all store-bought mayo’s are made with refined oils (like canola oil) even if it says something catchy on the front like “made with olive oil.” Just read the ingredients and you’ll see what I am talking about. And regardless of the oils that are used there are no easy-to-find brands (to my knowledge) that contain 5 or less ingredients, which was one of our real food pledge rules.

Secondly, you can certainly make homemade mayonnaise yourself, but I am going to tell you right now that it won’t be the same fluffy white stuff you buy from the store. I’ve decided that homemade mayo and store-bought mayo are just two completely different products and – right or wrong – I like and prefer the white fluffy stuff.

What’s the solution?

You can try to make homemade mayo using unrefined oils and pastured eggs, but most recipes call for raw eggs. I am still on the fence about giving uncooked eggs to my kids so after a few different “cooked egg” mayonnaise failures I honestly just gave up on it. So during our 100-day pledge we basically abstained from mayonnaise all together…gasp!

Some people successfully substitute plain Greek yogurt for mayo in recipes like egg salad and chicken salad, but I am just being honest here…I’ve tried it and I am not sold on the idea.

Now that our strict 100-day pledge is over we just buy a minimally processed (meaning: small number of ingredients) organic mayonnaise from the store. Yes, it’s the organic Spectrum brand that says “made with olive oil” even though I know it also contains highly refined canola oil, but occasionally convenience wins around here. With that being said we use the store-bought stuff in great moderation (probably only once a month in dishes like egg salad).

Ketchup

There is no such thing as “ketchup” without added sweeteners…that’s unfortunately (fortunately?) just what ketchup is.

There seem to be all sorts of ketchup options these days – both organic and conventional – that are sweetened with everything from high-fructose corn syrup to sugar to agave nectar. First of all, we don’t use agave (more on that another day), but secondly just because the added sweetener appears to be less refined than white sugar please remember that “added sugar is added sugar” and all should be consumed in moderation. And just because we like to use honey and maple syrup (since they are minimally processed and contain trace nutrients) that unfortunately doesn’t give us the green light to turn up the bottle. Bottom line: Sugar is sugar and too much of it is a bad thing.

What’s the solution?

Clearly you can simply reduce your consumption of ketchup. I know some parents say their kids love to dip anything and everything in ketchup so if that’s the case I would recommend introducing some new and different “real food” dips like hummus, homemade ranch, or even organic low-sodium soy sauce. Just remember even though this condiment may seem innocent ketchup is basically 2 parts tomato/spices and 1 part sugar. That means for every tablespoon of ketchup you eat you are consuming one teaspoon of sugar (yikes!).

During our 100-day pledge we tried making homemade ketchup with honey (because honey was one of our “allowed” sweeteners), but frankly the end result wasn’t all that great. So now we just buy store-bought organic ketchup made with sugar, and just like I mentioned above with the mayo, we use it in great moderation (probably about once or twice a month).

Barbeque Sauce

I hate to break it to you, but just like ketchup pretty much all tomato based BBQ sauces contain added sweeteners. And even if you make your own homemade BBQ sauce, which I highly recommend over the store-bought stuff, most call for ketchup as an ingredient.

What’s the solution?

I may sound like a broken record, but due to the added sweetener issue (see ketchup explanation above) it’s best to simply reduce your overall consumption of BBQ sauce.

We didn’t have BBQ sauce at all during our 100-day pledge, but I think if I tried hard enough I could probably come up with a pretty decent honey version that doesn’t contain refined sugar. I was never so creative during our pledge though so once we had BBQ sauce again after not having it for so long – I am not gonna lie – it was awesome.

Mustard

After all that bad news here is the good news…there are actually quite a few “real food” store-bought mustards out there! Several organic yellow and Dijon mustard brands simply contain vinegar, mustard seed, and spices, which is all pretty innocent stuff.

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I did not go through all the comments so I am probably repeating, but- We make our own ketchup and mustard in our house- it is soooooo easy. and although we have to have 5 lb bags of mustard seed in the basement (bought from Amazon.com) its nice to know that I control what’s in it. As far as mayo- I do you yogurt to make tuna fish, chicken salad, etc. the trick is to put a little olive oil in it, just to add that little bit of fat it needs to stick. And frankly who needs BBQ when you have homemade ketchup and local honey. ;)

I just take Pomi tomatoes in a shallow pan, add vinegar (your choice depending on what flavor you like- white is the basic, but you can do cider, etc) and whatever you like for sweetener (honey, raw sugar, etc) then reduce on a low simmer takes about 1/2 hour. Salt to taste.

As far as the mustard goes we buy yellow powder, black seed and yellow seed- we got this from amazon, they are organic and inexpensive. Basically we grind the seed in a coffee grinder, then add room temperature water and white vinegar (this is really the best for mustard) this will give you the basic mustard. If you use hot water you will get a milder mustard, but if you use cold you will get spicy (yum!) also keep adding liquid the seeds will suck it up. Salt pepper to taste.

Also my husband said its also easy to make mayo- oil, egg, and lemon juice- whip. But again have to except that it is basically pure fat. At least it has no preservatives! (aside for the lemons)

I’ve recently tried avocado mayonnaise and am quite smitten with it! It’s just avocados, EVOO, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Delish, and transforms a BLT into a masterpiece. Recipes are available on many websites, but I used this one:http://www.food.com/recipe/avocado-mayonnaise-202316

We just found Westbrae Natural Unsweetened Ketchup – still has maltodextrin in it, so doesn’t work for the REAL Food Challenge – but we use it VERY sparingly. I am planning on making my own. As for mayo – we make our own with raw eggs and love it – so much better than store-bought. We get our eggs from a local organic dairy farmer who also raises chickens, so I trust the eggs. We have never had any issues with raw eggs with the kids.

Re raw eggs and home made mayo…after whipping it all together leave it sit on the counter for a half hour. This gives the vinegar in the recipe a chance to kill off bacteria. Not sure if this is a scientific certainty or not, but we’ve made home made mayo forever and have never had a problem. Not sure if lemon juice is as effective or not.

I have stumbled onto an amazing natural substitute for butter, mayonnaise, even sweetener in many cases: coconut oil. There are flavored and unflavored varieties, and I use both, depending on whether I think the coconut flavor will enhance the recipe or not. I am impressed with its flexibility as a substitute for a variety of ingredients.

Coconut oil is awesome on warm bread with just a pinch of salt. It makes an amazing (non-refrigerated) vinegar & oil dressing (which will solidify below 76 degrees, so if refrigerated, it must be allowed to warm up to room temperature before use). I use coconut oil in tuna salad and egg salad and as a substitute for mayonnaise in any recipe. And it adds a nice, subtle surprise to steamed vegetables when allowed to melt over the top instead of using butter.

And in many recipies I find that by including the naturally flavored coconut oil, the amount of sweeteners added can be reduced or eliminated entirely. And since we are talking minimizing the sugars anyway, I prefer to use raw, unprocessed, unbleached cane sugar (or honey). Even when using real sugar, my diabetic family members find that the coconut oil consumption minimizes the sugar spike they would normally have after sugar consumption.

Utilizing coconut oil in place of mouthwash has the double benefit of fresh breath and whiter teeth (Google “oil pull”). I even make my own toothpaste with coconut oil as the base, with essential oils for their antiseptic properties (peppermint, tea tree, etc). My teeth have never been so white.

Agree with mayo – we use organic olive oil too!
Agree with ketchup – we choose low sodium and limit intake
Agree with mustard – we were surprised to see that almost all mustards are awesome – just watch for tartrazine in some

Regarding BBQ, just wanted to emphasize HOW GREAT homemade BBQ sauce really is!

The great thing is that you can make bbq sauce that tastes BETTER than store-bought easily. Molasses, brown sugar, low-sodium ketchup (or any tomato-based thingie), mustard, maple syrup, spices. You can get creative and mix it up as a glaze or sauce for the slow cooker. Obviously lots of sugar, but “real” and awesome!

Curious why you don’t use agave. My husband really likes agave syrup for breakfast foods on special occasions and it is a lot more expensive than traditional syrup, so I’d love to hear why you stay away. Thanks!

I cleared out my pantry in January 2012 of all processed foods (more than 5 ingredients). But my favorite condiment is the ‘fluffy’ mayonnaise that I grew up on. (And yes, I do make my own, but it is just not the same… still trying to tweak my recipe to come up with something that resembles the store-bought stuff.) Ketchup was easy to give up… and I had been making my own for the past 5 years. To me, if a friend gives me a french fry with the store bought stuff… all I taste are the chemicals. It is does not taste like tomatoes at all. With some tweaking, I turned my ketchup into a chipotle BBQ sauce. It is flavorful, spicy, and something that friends ask for during the holiday season. I just got into making mustard and really enjoy a stone ground ‘style’ with stout beer. Though my husband won’t use it. His favorite mustard is the plain yellow in the distinctive squeeze bottle with lots of additives. (He will buy that and sneak it into ‘fridge.)

I actually just avoid most condiments all together. As a substitute for mayo, I use avocado and/or greek yogurt, either separately depending on the dish, or blended together, which creates the creaminess of mayo you miss with just the yogurt. Plus you get the yummy avocado flavor as a bonus! I simply shy away from ketchup and bbq sauces, but luckily I LOVE mustard.

There are lots of foods out there that can add the moisture you need to replace the condiments. For example, if I eat a burger, the avocado, grilled onions and cheese are enough, no condiments needed.

I would encourage others to get passed the mind set of “needing” condiments on foods. Sometimes your meal is even better without them when you get creative in the kitchen adding flavors from real foods.

I just want to say that I really enjoy your enthusiasm about eating non-processed foods. That being said I’d like to insert my opinion and I hope you don’t take offense, I certainly mean none, but to avoid all condiments except for once or twice a month just seems a bit much to me. I truly believe that moderation is key in all things, and there are actually people out there that take this information about organic, gmo, etc, and basically refuse to eat anything because they can’t afford to buy organic but don’t want to eat the conventional. When I went on my real food journey I went through the same thing, I became obsessed about our food. It seemed that every time I turned around, there was an article saying such and such food was good for you, and then a month later it was bad! It was frustrating. After much thought and prayers I realized something. All of the anxiety that I was having over feeding my family was probably worse than having an occasional treat. We have three girls and are expecting a baby boy soon. We cannot afford to buy organic, however I do buy organic apples and applesauce and if there is good quality organic produce that isn’t grown in Mexico on sale, I will buy it, otherwise we eat conventional, and I wash things very well, and we enjoy our fruits and veggies. We don’t eat organic dairy because we again can’t afford $6 a gallon when we buy 4-5 gallons a week. We eat very little canned or boxed foods, I make our own stock, we raise our own beef, but we buy chicken at the store, we also raise our own free range eggs, but we buy pork at the store. We eat two or less servings of processed meats per week like bacon or lunchmeat, but we enjoy pizza one to two times a month, we enjoy making regular cookies and brownies and cakes, all in moderation, we cook with real butter, but very little of it, and we use olive oil, which is soo healthy! I just don’t buy into all of this hype about food anymore. We buy regular ketsup and and we love it. Ketsup is actually a great source of lycopene for kids, so why limit it so much? And is a tablespoon of real Hellman’s mayo really going to harm you? Perhaps it will, and someday I will have wished that I had been as strict as all of you folks, but I am choosing to live, and do my best, making as much from scratch as possible, but also living life and enjoying a McDonald’s cheeseburger and milkshake every now and then. I just think all of the research is too wishy-washy to truly take seriously, and you also have to consider that our world could not be fed if it were not for large scale meat, dairy, and egg farms, so while choosing natural, free range, grassfed is always a great idea, it is not practical for feeding our world and our growing population. Anyways, I do not mean any offense, I just wanted to share that I think sometimes people get way too concerned about this stuff. Do your best and ask God to take care of the rest :)

I just want to say that I really enjoy your enthusiasm about eating non-processed foods. That being said I’d like to insert my opinion and I hope you don’t take offense, I certainly mean none, but to avoid all condiments except for once or twice a month just seems a bit much to me. I truly believe that moderation is key in all things, and there are actually people out there that take this information about organic, gmo, etc, and basically refuse to eat anything because they can’t afford to buy organic but don’t want to eat the conventional. When I went on my real food journey I went through the same thing, I became obsessed about our food. It seemed that every time I turned around, there was an article saying such and such food was good for you, and then a month later it was bad! It was frustrating. After much thought and prayers I realized something. All of the anxiety that I was having over feeding my family was probably worse than having an occasional treat. We have three girls and are expecting a baby boy soon. We cannot afford to buy organic, however I do buy organic apples and applesauce and if there is good quality organic produce that isn’t grown in Mexico on sale, I will buy it, otherwise we eat conventional, and I wash things very well, and we enjoy our fruits and veggies. We don’t eat organic dairy because we again can’t afford $6 a gallon when we buy 4-5 gallons a week. We eat very little canned or boxed foods, I make our own stock, we raise our own beef, but we buy chicken at the store, we also raise our own free range eggs, but we buy pork at the store. We eat two or less servings of processed meats per week like bacon or lunchmeat, but we enjoy pizza one to two times a month, we enjoy making regular cookies and brownies and cakes, all in moderation, we cook with real butter, but very little of it, and we use olive oil, which is soo healthy! I just don’t buy into all of this hype about food anymore. We buy regular ketsup and and we love it. Ketsup is actually a great source of lycopene for kids, so why limit it so much? And is a tablespoon of real Hellman’s mayo really going to harm you? Perhaps it will, and someday I will have wished that I had been as strict as all of you folks, but I am choosing to live, and do my best, making as much from scratch as possible, but also living life and enjoying a McDonald’s cheeseburger and milkshake every now and then. I just think all of the research is too wishy-washy to truly take seriously, and you also have to consider that our world could not be fed if it were not for large scale meat, dairy, and egg farms, so while choosing natural, free range, grassfed is always a great idea, it is not practical for feeding our world and our growing population. Anyways, I do not mean any offense, I just wanted to share that I think sometimes people get way too concerned about this stuff. Do your best and ask God to take care of the rest :)

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I’m looking for some good salad dressing recipes that fit real food standards. Or store bought suggestions. I meant to look when I was last at Trader Joe’s as we found a lot real food items there but it totally slipped my mind. Thanks!

I basically make all my own condiments except ketchup (I buy organic made with sugar instead of HFCS after failing when trying to make my own), mustard, and Mayo (I only use it for a recipes like crab cakes, carrot raisin salad, chicken and tuna salad, which requires on a bit)

My favorite condiment to make is cocktail sauce! It’s so simple and tastes FANTASTIC. Sorry I don’t do measurements but it’s so easy to figure out, you can’t go wrong

Organic Ketchup
Horseradish to taste
a squeeze of lemon

That’s it. I make it and take with me when we go out to eat where I know I’ll be ordering shrimp.

As far as BBQ sauce goes, I thought I’d steer you in the direction of a recipe that doesn’t contain any artificial sweeteners. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s on my list: civilizedcavemancooking.com/condimentssauces/beasty-bbq-sauce/

I make my own barbecue sauce from 1 cup tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of one of these: brown sugar, maple syrup or honey, and whatever seasoning we are in the mood for such as black pepper, garlic, dried basil, chili powder or chili flakes. It’s great! We rarely use ketchup but will on a burger.

So excited that just about every time I have a question, you’ve already addressed it. I’m still in the research stage of this, and we’re reading labels. I’m hoping after the first of the year to begin the transition to a more real food diet. I’m surprised by some of the stuff I end up eating. Yuck. Thanks for this post. I’m not sure what the end result will look like, but I’m excited to be eating more real food.

For making your own mayonnaise they sell pasteurized in shell raw eggs that they use in old folks homes to reduce the risk of salmonella. The risk is still not 0 but is significantly reduced from non-pasteurized. The thing you would not like is they are not organic pasture raised eggs.
There is a trick to make homemade mayo that tastes just like store bought, all you need is a stick blender, a cup and a normal recipe (1egg yolk, 1 cup oil, lemon juice, salt) put everything in the cup and stick the stick blender in the bottom turn it on and slowly raise up. the emulsion will form and because it’s mixed so fast it’s super thick.

I use the spectrum mayo because when I had to clean up my husbands diet I was making literally everything and refused to make mayo too! We use the same ketchup. I make my own BBQ sauce and I use Heinz mustard because I can recognize all the ingredients.

Have you tried Vegenaise/NO SOY brand? It’s vegan, gluten-free, dairy free, soy free and NON_GMO and made with expeller-pressed high-oleic safflower oil, filtered water, brown rice syrup, apple cider, pea protein, sea salt, mustard flour, lemon juice concentrate. You get it in the refrigerated section of health food or healthy section grocery stores. It is really pretty good. Similar to Best Foods/Hellmans. They have a few different formulations such as Grapeseed and regular mayo (contains soy and canola I think.) Give it a try!! :)

Jamie Oliver has a great recipe for homemade ketchup. More than 5 ingredients- a bunch of different veggies, some herbs and spices and a small amount of brown sugar. Totally worth the effort and the recipe makes plenty. Great for gifting!

HI Lisa,
I was at Costco the other day and I came across a mayo called Just Mayo by Hampton Creek Foods. They are based out of San Fran. The mayo does not contain raw eggs. The taste is surprisingly good.
I was wondering if you have heard of it?

I found a mayo recipe from Nom Nom Paleo cookbook. I gave it a try and it was very yummy. One egg yolk, lemon juice, avocado oil, and salt. Super quick to make. The texture is smooth and creamy. SInce there are no preservatives it will last a week in the fridge. I will never buy store bought mayo again.

I was wondering about soy sauce, which some of your recipes call for. Wheat is one of the main ingredients, unless you buy the gluten-free type that is made with rice. Neither version lists the wheat/rice as 100% whole grain. Are these acceptable real foods?

I am in the health sciences and I can tell you that if you eat raw leafy greens you have a greater chance of getting food borne illness than from a raw egg. I researched it and it is true. I use fresh pastured eggs when I make homemade mayo and it is white fluffy and delicious. I am not sure what recipe you used that was not the same as the jarred stuff but mine is so yummy and no one in my family knows the difference.

We used to love Sweet baby Rays until I realized the first ingredient was high fructose corn syrup. I agree it is hard to find a BBQ sauce without sweeteners but I have found Bone Suckin Sauce (sold at Wfs) to be have the least amount of sugar.

I have been searching for a lower sugar BBQ sauce, and the lowest I’ve found so far is the Dinosaur BBQ Garlic BBQ sauce. It is delicious, and only 5g of sugar per 2 TBSP. The next lowest amount of sugar I have found is 10-12g.

How long does the organic spectrum brand mayo. (that you buy) last after opened?? I am wondering since it’s organic if it doesn’t last as long and since I think egg is an ingredient. Thank you! Love your blog!

Just wanted to mention that Trader Joes Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce is real food (only 3 natural ingredients) is a fabulous alternative to all of the non-real food condiments. We use it on eggs, in burritos, on our whole wheat pizza and sometimes I dip grilled cheese in it for a little kick of spice.

I just bought Organic Mayo from Trader Joe’s. Im doing the ten day challenge, but was using the free meal plan 1 from your website and noticed it had egg salad on the schedule. The Trader Joe’s Organic Mayo has no sugar and uses Expeller pressed soybean oil. From what I understand, expeller pressed means it is not refined. Would you say that this Mayo would be okay for the 10 day challenge? There are minimal ingredients.

We can also find organic unsweetened ketchup at the store we shop at. It tastes way better than the more processed stuff. We live in Germany though, so the exact kind we buy isn’t available state side.

I realize this post is originally from 2012 and wondering if you are familiar with Sir Kensington’s mayonnaise? I believe it is fairly new to the market and it is made with sunflower oil. Yummy stuff!!

HI. I have 1 year old and Im trying to do the best in introducing him to food. Need ideas on store bought snacks for.when we are gong aro un in tráffic. Have plena y of veggie and fruto ideas, but need to know which kind of baby cracker have the best ingredients. Thanks

Hi there. We are all out of the baby stage by a few years with our kids. :) Just carefully scrutinize those ingredient lists when you are shopping. Looks for whole grains, few ingredients, and nothing artificial.

In January 2015 I began to change my eating to avoid most processed foods, with special attention to cutting out “added sugars” – including those like fruit purees, and agave or brown rice syrup, etc. I was able to find a ketchup (Westbrae brand) without added sugar. Tomatoes have enough sweetness on their own, IMO. (At least, if they are allowed to ripen properly!) I got the Westbrae ketchup at a regional grocery chain called Sprout’s Farmers Market, but I bet they have it at Whole Foods, too.

Wondering if you’ve had a look at my Not Ketchup sauces? My Tangerine Hatch Chile Not Ketchup can be used for dipping, grilling, etc. and is made without any added sugar, sweetened only with fruit. I am in the process of transitioning all my sauces to the same kind of formulation (no added sugar, no artificial or non-nutritive sweeteners, sweetened only with fruit) and will be releasing a few more flavors over the summer. Would love for you to see if that might work for your family.

My Cookbooks

I’m so excited to share all the info with you about the three cookbooks in my 100 Days of Real Food series. Each cookbook is unique and features its own content, from breaking down the science behind grains, to providing…